The United States has enjoyed good relations with Ghana at the nonofficial, personal level since Ghana's independence. Thousands of Ghanaians have been educated in the United States. Close relations are maintained between educational and scientific institutions, and cultural links, particularly between Ghanaians and African-Americans, are strong.

After a period of strained relations in the mid-1980s, U.S.-Ghanaian official relations are stronger than at any other time in recent memory. Ghanaian parliamentarians and other government officials have through the U.S. International Visitor Program acquainted themselves with U.S. congressional and state legislative practices and participated in programs designed to address other issues of interest. The U.S. and Ghanaian militaries have cooperated in numerous joint training exercises, culminating with Ghanaian participation in the African Crisis Response Initiative, an international activity in which the U.S. is facilitating the development of an interoperable peacekeeping capacity among African nations. U.S.-Ghanaian military cooperation continues under the new African Contingency Operations Training and Assistance program; Ghana was one of the first militaries to receive ACOTA training in early 2003. In addition, there is an active bilateral International Military Education and Training program. The Office of the President of Ghana worked closely with the U.S. Embassy in Accra to establish an American Chamber of Commerce to continue to develop closer economic ties in the private sector.

The United States is among Ghana's principal trading partners. The American privately owned Valco aluminum smelter imported many of its supplies from, and exported almost all the aluminum ingots to, Europe and the United States. U.S. investments in Ghana form one of the largest stocks of foreign capital, with a replacement value of more than $600 million. Valco--90% owned by Kaiser, and 10% by Reynolds--has been by far the biggest investment. Recently the Government of Ghana agreed to purchase Valco from Kaiser Aluminum after protracted negotiations over power tariffs.

Other important U.S. companies operating in the country include ACS, ExxonMobil, Coca Cola, S.C. Johnson, Ralston Purina, Star-Kist, A.H. Robins, Sterling, Pfizer, IBM, Carson Products, 3M, Pioneer Gold, Motorola, Stewart & Stevenson, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Great Lakes Shipping, and National Cash Register (NCR). Several U.S. firms recently made or are considering investments in Ghana, primarily in gold mining, wood products, and petroleum-for example, U.S. mining giant Newmont is entering Ghana's mining field with a $700 million investment. In late 1997, Nuevo Petroleum concluded an oil exploration agreement accounting for the last of Ghana's offshore mineral rights zones. Several other U.S. oil companies also are engaged in offshore exploration, but thus far have turned up little.

U.S. development assistance to Ghana in fiscal year 2003 totaled more than $50 million, divided between small business enterprise, health, education, and democracy/governance programs. Ghana was the first country in the world to accept Peace Corps volunteers, and the program remains one of the largest. Currently, there are more than 150 volunteers in Ghana. Almost half work in education, and the others in various fields such as agro-forestry, small business development, health education, and water sanitation, as well as youth development.

The U.S. Embassy is located on Ring Road East, near Danquah Circle, Accra (tel. 233-21-775347/8/9). The mailing address is P.O. Box 194, Accra, Ghana. For American citizen services and visa questions, the Embassy consular section telephone number is 233-21-776602.